


Five Times Galo Had to Go to the Hospital

by SerotoninShift



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Minor Injuries, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23831431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerotoninShift/pseuds/SerotoninShift
Summary: ....and one time Lio visited him.~or~ Galo Thymos is a gay disaster and the ER doctors know him by name, don’t @ me
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 39
Kudos: 387





	Five Times Galo Had to Go to the Hospital

1\. Broken Nose

They stop at the ice cream truck on a whim, coming back from lunch. Galo gets an ice cream sandwich. Lio gets a strawberry popsicle. They walk toward Station Three, treats in hand. Galo starts taking the wrapper off his ice cream sandwich at the same time Lio unwraps the popsicle. 

“I haven’t had one of these in ages,” Lio says happily. Galo glances over at him just in time to see him take a long lick. “Mmm,” Lio says, and pops the end of it into his mouth, between his delicate lips.

Galo walks straight into a telephone pole.

2\. Cut on Left Index Finger Requiring Two Stitches

Okay, it wasn’t like Galo had never _noticed_ Lio before that. He pretty much _kissed_ the guy, for crying out loud. He’s been nursing a little crush ever since they fist-bumped on top of the Parnassus. But he was hesitant to let it run away with him; he doesn’t know if Lio is into guys, or wants to date anyone right now considering all the other stuff he has going on. Even if he _was,_ and he _did,_ he’s… well, he’s Lio Fotia, former rebel leader and current Burnish-rights advocate, and Galo is… _Galo,_ former Kray Foresight _dupe._ Galo is lucky Lio doesn’t hate his guts. So he’d shelved the crush and just concentrated on being bros; helping Lio move in with Meis and Guiera across town, setting him up an office for his newly incorporated non-profit in a Station Three storage closet, making sure Lio got the pizza slice with the most pepperoni when they all went out to eat. 

He hadn’t been mentally prepared for the intense surge of _lust_ he experienced, watching Lio innocently lick that popsicle.

He picks at the bandage on his nose, sitting on the breakroom couch at Station Three and glumly contemplating his life, and also his choices. 

Should he say something? He doesn’t want to just perv on Lio like a creep. But he also doesn’t want to ruin the camaraderie they have going on. Lio is so fun to hang out with. Galo would hate to mess that up. Lio isn’t just cute and sexy; he’s funny, in a dry, deadpan way, and smart, and incredibly brave, not to mention tough as nails and stubborn as fuck, and Galo…

Shit. Galo has it pretty bad, actually.

“Hey.”

Galo jumps about a mile.

“Lio!” he says, swiveling his head around to look at the very person in question, who has snuck up behind him. “Hey! Hi! I was just sitting here!” He swivels his head back and stares nonchalantly at the wall. Totally normal.

“Ah, I see,” Lio says.

Wait. Something's different about Lio. Galo turns back and takes another look, and his mouth drops open.

“Oh my god!” Galo says.

Lio grimaces. “That bad, huh?” he says.

“No!” Galo exclaims. “I like it! It looks dope!”

“Really?” Lio says.

Lio’s hair is cut short on the sides and back, longer on top and sticking up. It almost looks like a smaller version of Galo’s fauxhawk, except wavier and more symmetrical.

“Yeah! It brings out your… face,” Galo says.

Lio laughs.

“Gueira’s been cutting my hair, but between you and me, he’s not super great at it. I thought it might be time for a change,” Lio says.

“Change is good!” Galo says. “I think it looks...” He almost says _hot,_ manages just in time to change it to “...nice!”

Lio smiles at him.

“Thanks,” he says.

There’s a long pause. Galo realizes abruptly that he’s staring.

“You doing anything fun tonight?” Galo asks, just for something to say.

Lio comes around the couch and flops down next to him on the cushions.

“Nah. Meis and Gueira are going out, so I’ll probably just make Cup Noodles and watch a show.”

Galo furrows his brow.

“You’re seriously having Cup Noodles for dinner?”

Lio gives him a confused look.

“What’s wrong with Cup Noodles?”

“Lio, Cup Noodles are a terrible food that should only be eaten in dire circumstances. Like, I understood you guys eating them when you were living in a cave. But now? You have a kitchen. You can do so much better.”

Lio looks a little chagrined. “To be honest, I’m an awful cook,” he says. “I never really learned how. Cup Noodles is all I know.”

“Lio,” Galo says decisively, “I’m going to make you dinner. Come to my house at six and I’ll make you a chicken cacciatore that will blow your mind.”

“Really?” Lio says.

“You haven’t _lived_ until you’ve had my chicken cacciatore!” Galo exclaims, smashing a fist into his palm.

“Okay!” Lio says, with a bright, shy smile. “Sounds good!”

“Totally!” Galo says happily. “You won’t regret it, Lio!”

Lio looks a little flustered. He stands up. “I’ll see you then,” he says. “I should get back to work on this grant proposal. Um. Later.”

“You bet!” Galo shoots finger guns at him. He absolutely does not watch Lio walk away. Instead he leans back and laces his fingers behind his head, preparing a mental shopping list. He has most of the stuff he needs, but he’ll have to pick up some olives.

Then the full reality of what he just did sinks in.

He invited Lio to his _house._ For _dinner._

He panics for a second. Then he remembers he’s the great Galo Thymos, who goes balls to the wall and doesn’t back down from challenges.

Or cute guys he has crushes on.

Okay. Okay, this is fine. He’s going to cook Lio dinner, and he’ll just have to try not to think too hard about kissing him, or about what his newly-short hair might feel like under Galo’s hands, or anything like that. This is going to be fine.

God, he’s so fucked.

***

Lio arrives at six on the dot. Galo hears his motorcycle pull up to the curb.

“Okay,” Galo says to the chicken sectioned on the cutting board, unaccountably nervous. “Neither of us can fuck this up, okay?” He takes a deep breath, and answers the door when the bell rings.

Lio clearly went home and changed; he’s wearing what Galo thinks of as his “fancy” outfit, the one with the belts and the leather jacket. Galo swallows. Did Lio dress up for their date?

Wait. It’s not a _date,_ he reminds himself. It’s just dinner. Just two guys who saved the world together having a chill dinner date. 

_Dinner._ A chill _dinner._ Not a dinner _date._

God, he’s _so_ fucked.

"Hi!" he says. It comes out slightly squeakier than he would have liked.

“Thanks for having me over,” Lio says. “I can’t believe you helped me move but I’ve never been to your place before.” He walks through the door and stands in the middle of the combination kitchen and living room, surveying it. “It’s nice,” he says, looking back at Galo with a small smile.

“Well!” Galo says. “Thanks! I better get started! This chicken ain’t gonna cook itself!”

“Can I help?” Lio asks.

“No, no, you sit,” Galo says, ushering him to the kitchen island and sitting him down on one of the bar stools. “All I have to do is chop some veggies and put everything in a pan.” Galo starts pulling things out of the fridge. “You want a beer?” he says, grabbing one from the door and holding it out to Lio.

“Thanks.” Lio takes the offering, cracks it open. “You mind if I check out your books?” he asks as Galo lines up the veggies he needs to chop.

They’re mostly trashy mystery novels. Oh well. Not everyone can be an English major.

“Knock yourself out,” Galo says. 

Lio stands up and walks over to the bookshelves, taking a sip of beer on the way. Galo absolutely does not look at the line of his throat as he swallows. Lio eyes the paperbacks. Then he examines the third shelf down, where Galo keeps his model mechs. 

Galo is suddenly extremely self-conscious about having a collection of model mechs.

“These are cool,” Lio says after squinting at them for a long moment.

“Thanks!” Galo says, too loudly. “They’re scale models of rescue tech!”

“Ah, yes,” Lio says. “I recognize this one.” He points to the one on the right.

“Yeah, the Prometron JS-57, or as I like to call it, the Triple Cannon Combo Blaster! That’s the model Remi always drives. The one next to it is Varys’s! And the next one is…” He snaps his mouth shut. Then he says, “Well. You probably don’t want to hear about them all.”

Lio smiles faintly and picks up the third figure with careful hands.

“A Mark II Prometronic exosuit,” he says. He turns it, looks at the back. “Looks like this is the original version without the rocket pack.” He puts it back on the shelf, shoots Galo a wry look. “I got to know a lot about these, fighting you guys and Freeze Force all the time,” he says.

“Oh,” Galo says, and flushes, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“No, nothing to be sorry about,” Lio says, coming back to the kitchen island and sitting on the barstool again. “You really like firefighting technology, huh?”

“There’s a through-line from the past to the present!” Galo enthuses before he can stop himself. “The gear they used in Edo-period Japan inspired many of the features you see on modern tech!” He cuts himself off again before he can go down a rabbit hole of trivia. “Sorry, I get fired up about it,” he says, and cuts a bell pepper in half.

“Why are you apologizing for that?” Lio asks curiously.

“It’s kind of stupid,” Galo mumbles, concentrating on chopping the bell pepper.

“It’s not stupid,” Lio says.

Galo looks up. Lio is smiling at him, that cute little half-smile.

“You’re very passionate,” Lio says. “I like that.”

“Oh,” Galo says, flustered.

That’s when he accidentally brings the knife down on his own finger.

3\. Second-degree Burn on Right Shin

“Lio, c’moooooon,” Galo whines. He’s been trying to think of something they could do to make up for their disastrous “dinner” three days back, but he hadn’t expected his suggestion of camping out at Prometh Lake to meet such staunch opposition. 

“Absolutely not,” Lio says. “I’ve had my fill of sleeping outside for this lifetime.” Then he gives Galo an appraising look. “Unless…” he says.

Galo sits up from his defeated slouch. “Unless what?” he asks hopefully.

“Can we build a fire?” Lio says with a mischievous smile.

Galo stares at him.

“Build a fire,” he says flatly. 

“You owe me one,” Lio says, still smiling mischievously. “Last time we hung out I had to drive you to the ER. You bled on my jacket.”

Galo flushes and rubs the back of his neck.

“I still feel bad about that,” he says. 

Lio puts a hand on Galo’s forearm. Galo blushes harder.

“You can make it up to me,” Lio says, “by indulging my simple request.”

Galo frowns. He’s not in the habit of lighting fires, as he’s made very clear. On the other hand… he’s more than qualified to do it safely. And if he can get Lio out to the lake… they can look at the stars together, and that’s really romantic, right? That’s gotta be better than going to the hospital. Maybe sitting with Galo by a fire will even kindle a spark in Lio’s heart for a firefighter with a burning soul...

“Okay!” Galo says. “But just this once! And you know I wouldn’t light a fire for just _anyone,_ right?”

“I know,” Lio says, still smiling. “Sounds like we have a deal.”

“Sweet,” Galo says. “You like s’mores?”

“What are those?” Lio says.

“Oh my god,” Galo says.

***

They drive their bikes out to Prometh Lake in the fading light of the warm summer night. They find a quiet spot by the shore, next to a little beach. Galo takes his shoes off, wiggles his toes in the sand. Lio sets up two camp chairs he brought. Galo rolls his pants up and wades out into the lake one step. 

“Cold!” he yelps. “It’s cold!” He jumps back to dry land. Lio laughs at him.

“It was an ice lake, I don’t know what you expected!” he says. “C’mon, let’s get the fire going.”

Galo builds a careful ring of stones as Lio gathers fallen branches from the surrounding woods. They stack branches and kindling inside the stone ring, and Galo produces a lighter.

“You wanna do the honors?” he says, presenting the lighter to Lio. Lio shakes his head.

“My fire-starting days are over,” he says, somewhat wistfully. “You go ahead.”

Galo kneels down and snaps the lighter close against the kindling. It catches, and he blows on it gently until the fledgling flame grows to engulf a few of the larger pieces of wood. When he looks back at Lio, Lio is staring at the fire, a look in his eyes that Galo can’t read. He reaches out his hands to the flames.

“Thank you for this,” he says to Galo softly. Galo feels his heart stutter in his chest.

“Let me, uh, get the stuff for the s’mores,” he says, and walks back to the bikes, taking a moment to let his heart settle down.

“Be cool,” he says to the marshmallows as he gets them out of his pannier. “Just be cool.” He takes a detour and finds a good marshmallow-roasting stick on the way back. When he gets back to the fire, Lio is sitting in one of the chairs, still staring at the flames, but he smiles at Galo as Galo approaches. Galo hands him the stick and the bag of marshmallows, sits down in the other chair.

“I seriously can’t believe you’ve never done this before,” he says, as Lio spears a marshmallow on the end of the stick.

Lio laughs a little.

“We had other priorities,” he says.

“Cup Noodles,” Galo says sagely. Lio laughs again and holds out the stick, letting the marshmallow hover over the flames.

“Would it be strange to say I find this kind of comforting?” he says. “It’s not a fire I can control, but it reminds me of the Promare.”

“You miss them, huh,” Galo says.

Lio sighs.

“I know they couldn’t have stayed,” he says. “They didn’t belong here. Synching with humans caused them pain. I just have to get used to it.” He sighs again. “When I was Burnish, I felt… safe. Nothing could hurt me. Now I feel so… small. Fragile.”

Galo puffs out his chest.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Lio,” he says with certainty. “You might not have the Promare, but you’ve got _me!_ I’ve got your back.”

Lio smiles at him.

For a long moment, Galo is aware of nothing but the sparks reflected in Lio’s eyes.

Then Galo suddenly notices that Lio’s marshmallow is _very_ close to the flames.

“Careful, don’t let it catch on fire!” Galo says.

The marshmallow catches on fire.

“Oh shit!” Lio yells, yanking the stick back.

“Lio!” Galo yelps as Lio whips the stick through the air, trying futilely to put the marshmallow out.

A piece of the marshmallow, hot and viscous and unfortunately still on fire, flies off the stick and smacks into Galo’s bare shin.

4\. Back Spasm

“How’s the leg today?” Lio asks, wandering into the mech bay.

Galo rolls up his pant leg and shows him the neat rectangular dressing.

“Almost as good as new!” he says.

“I still owe you a pizza,” Lio says.

Galo waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “It was an accident.”

“I feel terrible,” Lio says. “I have to admit I panicked a bit when I couldn’t get the fire to do what I wanted. I ruined our night.”

Galo blushes, hearing Lio call it “our night.” But he doesn’t have a chance to really parse that out; Varys comes into the bay carrying an absolutely massive mech part for refurbishing. He sets it down with a clang, brushes his hands off, and sits down next to Galo.

“What does that weigh?” Lio asks him around Galo. Varys shrugs.

“I dunno, couple hundred pounds?”

“Pretty impressive,” Lio says.

Galo feels a weird flare of jealousy. He stands up and walks over to the part. He taps it with his foot experimentally.

“Is that a Model-09 cannon attachment?” Lio asks Varys.

"Yeah,” Varys says, and he sounds impressed in turn. “You know your mechs.”

Galo leans down and shoves his hands under the Model-09 cannon attachment.

“I can lift it too!” Galo says. “Watch this!”

“Rookie!” Varys yells. “Lift with your knees!”

It’s too late.

5\. Smoke Inhalation

Galo’s first shift back at work after a restless two days icing his lower back is quiet, to start with. It doesn’t last.

The top three floors of the apartment complex are engulfed in flames when they get there. 

“We got life signs on the fourth floor!” Lucia yells from inside the truck. “East side!”

“It’s too narrow to get the chopper in there!” Aina’s voice comes over the comms.

“I’m on it!” Galo yells, grabbing the cooling gel canister, pulling his respirator on, and charging out of the truck. 

“Rookie!” Varys yells. “We gotta… you know what, never mind.” 

Ignis sighs into the comms. 

“Varys, suit up and keep his exit clear,” he says. “Remi and Aina, deploy the ice cannons and the hoses. We’re gonna need ‘em.”

Galo is already through the door and running up the stairs.

“Lucia,” he says into the comms, “tell me where to go.”

“You got it,” her nasal voice comes back. “Two more floors up, then take a left, then third door on the right.”

Galo opens the stair door on the fourth floor to an incandescent blaze. He fires the cooling gel into the flames, extinguishing a path to the third door on the right. He runs forward and kicks it open. It goes easily, pushing aside a mass of dishtowels wedged under the bottom.

“Over here!” yells a high, scared voice.

There’s a little girl, maybe ten, lying on the floor, waving her arms. Galo rushes to her, kneels down.

“Are you hurt?” he asks.

“No,” she gasps, looking up at him with wide eyes. “I was just doing like they said in the fire drills. Stay low and go, but don’t open the door if it’s hot. I was trying to get to the hall, so I could go down the stairs, but… the door was hot… and I couldn’t go back...” She sobs a little, but chokes it off. Tough kid.

“You did great, honey,” Galo says. “You did perfect. Let’s get out of here, okay?”

“Yes please,” she says. Galo picks her up in a fireman’s carry, considers his exit strategy. She was right to stay put; fire is raging in the next room, blocking their route to the window and the fire escape. The cooling gel has cleared his exit back down the hall stairs for the moment, but it won’t last. Smoke is billowing up the stairs now; something below must have caught. He has to move.

The only way out is through. Galo takes a deep breath, then takes his respirator mask off and fastens it over the girl’s face.

“Hold on tight,” he says, and sprints into the smoke.

6\. Visitation Rights

Galo wakes up slowly. He takes stock. He’s lying in a bed; there’s something on his face. An oxygen mask, he realizes. He’s groggy and sore; his chest hurts. He has a headache. Other than that, though, he feels okay. He moves his fingers and toes a little. Everything’s there.

The last thing he remembers clearly is handing the girl to her frantic mother, who had been in the laundry room waiting for the dryer to finish when the fire broke out upstairs. Then he started coughing. After that it’s blurry; flashes of the white uniforms of EMTs, the inside of an ambulance, the oxygen mask being placed over his nose and mouth.

He opens his eyes, blinks a few times in the fluorescent light, and looks around the room.

It’s a normal hospital room, divided down the middle by a curtain. The only thing unusual about it is Lio, curled up in a chair by Galo’s head.

“Lio?” Galo says, voice raspy. Lio starts, raising his head, and uncurls himself.

“You’re awake!” he says, and smiles at Galo, as bright as the sun. “How do you feel?”

Galo sits up, scooting back in the bed.

“I feel okay,” he says. “Thirsty as heck.”

“I got you,” Lio says, fishes a bottle of water out of the shoulder bag by his chair, and hands it to Galo. Galo gingerly takes the oxygen mask off, takes a swig.

Was water always this good? He drains half the bottle in a few large gulps.

“What are you doing here?” Galo asks curiously once he’s done swallowing and wiping his mouth.

Lio looks offended. 

“What do you _think_ I’m doing?” he says. “I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”

Galo blushes.

“No, I mean, how did you even get in?” Galo says, hunching his shoulders a little. “Usually they don’t let people stay, right?” He takes another sip from the bottle.

“Oh, I told them I was your husband,” Lio says nonchalantly. 

Galo chokes on the water.

“I’m a very good liar. I hope you don’t mind. I know it’s a bit sudden, since we’ve only been on two dates,” Lio says with a rueful smile, “but I was really worried. I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

 _“Dates?”_ Galo says weakly.

Lio furrows his brow.

“Those were dates, right?” he asks, concerned. 

_“Uh,”_ Galo says.

Lio’s face falls. “You had me over for dinner. You took me out to the lake,” he says softly. “I know neither event really ended well, but… those weren’t… ?”

“Yes!” Galo blurts. “Those were totally dates! I one hundred percent thought those were dates… the _entire time!”_

Lio narrows his eyes.

“Clearly not,” he says. “What the hell are you playing at, Thymos?”

“I-!” Galo sputters. “They can be dates! Retroactively! I _wanted_ them to be dates! I just… I didn’t think… that _you_ thought they were dates.”

Lio gets a really cute wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Why would I… _not_ have thought they were dates? Those are _classic_ date activities.”

“Because… I don’t know! We never talked about it! I didn’t even know if you liked guys! Much less _me!_ I thought… maybe you thought it was bro stuff!”

Lio gives him a long, _long_ look.

“Galo Thymos,” he says tiredly, “you really are an idiot.”

Galo meets Lio’s eyes. A slow smile starts to spread across his face.

“Maybe so,” he says. “But apparently you’re dating me. So what does that make _you?”_

Lio narrows his eyes again. “You are on _really_ thin ice right now, Thymos,” he says.

Galo’s smile gets wider. 

“So you’re telling me,” Galo says, “that when I asked you on a date, you said yes? _Twice?_ Even though I almost cut my finger off the first time and you had to take me to the hospital?”

Lio scowls at him.

“That can only mean one thing,” Galo says triumphantly, raising said finger in the air, then pointing it at Lio. “You actually _like_ me. That’s _awesome._ Is it because I’m handsome and heroic? Or were you swayed by my charisma?”

Lio continues to scowl. “You do have a certain charm,” he admits grudgingly. “For an accident-prone dumbass.”

“You’re really serious right now?” Galo asks, a little softer. “I didn’t think… I mean, I _am_ kind of a dumbass. I didn’t think you’d go for that.”

Lio frowns at him. “Galo, I used to sleep in a cave. I did crime for a living. I only know how to cook Cup Noodles. I’m a walking disaster. I was considering myself extremely lucky that you wanted anything to _do_ with me, even before the chicken cacciatore.”

Galo is offended by this on Lio’s behalf. “You’re not a walking disaster!” he protests. “You’re awesome! I always thought so, even when we were mortal enemies. I’d love to date you!”

“You _have_ been dating me,” Lio says, rolling his eyes. “Apparently we’re _both_ idiots.”

“The world’s number one idiots who are _dating_ each other!” Galo says happily. “Does this mean we can smooch?” 

Lio snorts. “You’re lucky you’re good-looking,” he says.

Galo puffs up. “You forgot to mention heroic and self-sacrificing,” he says.

Lio re-narrows his eyes.

“Lio,” Galo says, grinning, and coughs pathetically, “I’m having trouble breathing after heroically rescuing a little girl from a fire! If only a handsome former rebel leader would come along and save me with the kiss of life!”

Lio’s eyes narrow further. Galo coughs again, and wheezes dramatically for good measure.

“I’m fading fast!” he narrates, throwing up one hand to place the back against his brow. “You better give me mouth-to-mouth quick or I won’t make it!”

Lio’s eyes don’t un-narrow, but the corner of his mouth quirks up in a little smile.

“I suppose,” he says, “I _do_ owe you one.”

***

Galo survives, but only thanks to medically unnecessary mouth-to-mouth. He leaves the hospital with Lio later that day, arm around him, grinning foolishly. 

Lio has already promised, with a very suggestive wink, to nurse him back to health. Galo can’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @SerotoninShift


End file.
